"We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Vice President Dick Cheney said about terrorists: "You have to destroy them. It's the only way to deal with them."

Except, of course, when it comes to the Palestinian terrorists. Then, according to the Bush Administration, the way to deal with them is to insist that they be allowed to run in Palestinian elections, which are scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

It's also interesting that while bin Laden's offer of a truce is (appropriately) dismissed, when Hamas raises the possibility of a truce for a period of around 10 years in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel to the 1967 borders, the media responds as though a breakthrough toward peace has occurred.

Finally, with respect to yesterday's bombing, the Israeli media reported that nobody was killed, several people were seriously wounded, and around 20 people were moderately or lightly wounded. Suffice to say that in Israel, "moderately wounded" refers to anything that is not considered life-threatening. I know of a person who was serving in the IDF at the Gaza border, and was "moderately wounded". His knees were busted, he was in a wheelchair for a long period of time, and had to undergo extensive physical therapy to learn how to walk again. My understanding is that he will never completely recover. Others who were "moderately wounded" include people who suffered collapsed lungs, burst eardrums, and serious burns requiring skin grafts, among other "moderate" injuries.